I received a call the other day from a charity that we have supported for a number of years. They were very cordial and thanked me for our past support, but they wanted more. They weren’t asking for much, just another donation to their worthy cause. Do you get these kinds of requests at your business? What typically happens? In most businesses, I find that these "little asks” are passed off to the marketing people to handle. If that is your case, take a look at a solution to the never-ending charitable requests.

There are so many great causes. From disease research to kids’ soccer teams, all of them depend upon corporate and individual donations to keep their doors open. How do you decide whom to give to and whom to shun? It is not an easy decision for two reasons. First, no one has enough money to give to all of them. And let’s be frank here: it eats away at marketing dollars that have been earmarked for other things. Secondly, marketing is charged with upholding the good name of the company. Saying no to a charity may work counter to the goodwill you are attempting to garner. So the person stuck with this decision in your organization is really dealing with a ticking bomb, aren’t they? If they say yes and blow the marketing budget on a bunch of charitable causes, they are in deep trouble when it comes time to pay for things like your web site. But if they say no to charitable causes and gain a reputation as being heartless, the company’s brand is in danger of taking a hit. What is a marketer stuck with these decisions to do? Here are a few ideas to deal with the "little asks” from charitable causes that will give you some direction.

Put the charitable causes in your marketing budget

In your marketing budget, assign a specific amount of money to pay towards charitable causes. When the line item is used up for the year, no more money can be handed out. When a request comes in after the budget has been zeroed out, you can simply say that the dollars have been accounted for and to be considered for the next year’s budget, a charity would need to make a request in writing before budget time. This eliminates a lot of last minute asks, which is a tactic many groups use when asking for money to support their cause.

Putting a line item in your marketing budget helps you draw a line with charitable giving, but it does not determine which groups will be supported and which ones will not. How do you decide who will win and who will lose? Here are some ideas that I have seen used that are effective.

Coming up with one cause to support

It is not a bad idea to come up with a cause that is meaningful to your company and put all your effort behind it. When you give to a multitude of charities, it dilutes your effectiveness. I had a friend who owned a manufacturing company. His mother was stricken with cancer, so his company helped raise funds for the American Cancer Society. All of their charitable giving went to this cause. Not only that, but their employees took part in fundraising activities for this charity; which leads to my next point.

Engaging with employees beyond the money

Some companies are making decisions about charitable giving based on employee involvement beyond the money. They only support the charities in which employees take an active role. This requires a charity to fill out a request for funds only with the endorsement of a current employee. Some businesses have polled their people to see which charities they would support with their time and their own personal funds before they will consider giving corporate dollars away. The new trend among employees - younger employees especially – is to work for a corporation where they can also give time to worthwhile causes outside the office. This is a way to get more out of your charitable dollars. That leads to another point.

Charitable decision by committee

I am not always a big proponent of doing business by committee, but in this case, I think it makes sense. I have known companies that have given a committee of engaged employees the power to decide which charities get funded and which ones do not. They come up with the criteria that will be followed and ask groups to fill out a form for consideration. This takes the decision off the back of one person and gives the responsibility for making the choice to a group of people who can weigh in on the merits of one group over another. The people assigned to this group need to be open-minded about different groups and should apply some kind of guidelines to each request. It is then on the charity to make a compelling argument to the group on why they should get funded.

Who else is supporting them?

From a marketing perspective, it is important to understand who your customers are supporting in charitable causes. It may make good business sense to collaborate with them and get behind their charities. Those sorts of things can pay dividends in loyalty to you and your brand for years to come. It can also open you up to others who have a passion for a specific charity and are potential customers. Get involved with them on boards and committees. Birds of a feather flock together. If you have a customer who is involved deeply with a charity, you may find one or two others around the same table.